This invention relates to transport systems. More particularly, this invention is to a system using air cushion vehicles in channels.
Transportation of heavy and bulky loads such as materials, commodities, supplies, machinery, equipments, ordnance, etc. has been and still is a formidable task. Ships, barges, boats, and other water-borne vessels have successfully delivered these loads across open water, and canals and locks were developed to extend this capability and to circumvent land obstacles. However, an overland transport system that is high-speed, costs less, and better than trains is still needed.
To a degree, trains currently carry substantial loads, but many trains are slow. Train systems also require expensive nonrecurring capital investments and expensive recurring maintenance costs. In many existing networks of rail roadways, large real estate investments have been made, but maintenance costs are high to meet safety standards.
Monorail transportation systems could be created in the networks of roadways, but the costs of laying concrete and building supporting rail structures are significant. Magnetic-levitation of heavy loads also has been investigated, but this appears to be prohibitive since, like the monorails, large up-front capital investments and large recurring, maintenance costs are needed. Consequently, almost any known advanced technology heavy-lift transportation system requires a large investment and high maintenance costs.
Thus, in accordance with this inventive concept, a need has been recognized in the state of the art for systems capable of transporting heavy loads overland at high transit speeds and at reduced capital investment and maintenance costs for the roadway.